Trust

A darkly funny memoir and investigation into the charms and crimes of the untrustworthy.

Romance scams, pyramid schemes, bogus debts, and fake news—the world is awash with confidence tricksters and swindlers. But what happens if the fraudster is your lover?

It has been said that trust is a risk masquerading as a promise and, as Hemingway suggested, 'The way to make people trust-worthy is to trust them'. Once we have fallen under the spell of malevolent hucksters, their power is real, as is the loss of self and hope when the spell breaks.

A hybrid memoir and a personal detective story, Trust is an exploration of what it means to trust, why we trust, and what happens when trust is betrayed. With a particular view to fraud and corruption within the hallowed walls of sandstone universities, Ryckmans brings to light the oft subtle, brutal nature of control that fraudsters have over their victims, and shows the deep impacts their actions have on others personally and professionally. The cover-up—sometimes said to be worse than the crime—has insidious effects.

Trust is a fractured fable. It is darkly funny, wistful, and spare in tone and approach.